RSSFoundation launches new website
It has the funds, and now, it has the means to tell people about it.
The Franklin County Community Foundation recently launched a new website for visitors to get information about the organization, research scholarship opportunities and explore giving options.
“The board thought we needed to publicize and make available this information for people in the community so they could decide how they wanted to set up their estates,” board president Ken Woods said.
The foundation has existed since 2000, when a scholarship was transferred to it from a law office and a board of trustees was formed.
In May, the size of the fund went from about $300,000 to $4.3 million because of a single private gift from the late R.E. “Rosey” and Eileen Roseberry.
The website, www.franklincountygiving.org, has generated more than 100 hits in the two weeks it has been live, Gordon Billingsley said. Billingsley, digital media director for The Ottawa Herald, built the website.
“In this day and age, most people have access to the Internet, so we wanted to make a website available,” Woods said.
The website allows people to learn more about the foundation, Woods said.
“One of our selling points of the foundation is it allows people to control where their estate goes,” he said. “So instead of the government taking it and doing what they want to with it, we say, ‘Why don’t you be in charge of it?’”
It also lists the scholarships, including the Roseberrys’, which will be available for the first time in the spring, Woods said.
“We’ve listed all the scholarships that are available and have been in touch with county schools about the scholarships,” he said.
Woods said he hopes the new website will help spread the word about charitable giving in Franklin County and keep the foundation going for years.
“With the proper investments, we’ll be able to continue for some time,” he said.
